Women Entrepreneurs - Can We Remove the Barriers?

Entrepreneurial activity among women continues to attract attention world wide. However, despite obvious gains, women lag behind men in business ownership and economic independence on every continent. This paper will review the research on entrepreneurship as a career choice for women, the motivations and career paths followed by women entrepreneurs, the attitudes and behaviors associated with successful ventures, the problems that persist and policies that conspire to keep women’s businesses few and small. A discussion of legislation and practices that have helped and hindered women’s entrepreneurship will follow, with suggestions for reframing the issues and reforming policies.

Women are changing the face of modern business. They are in the forefront of the service

sector, the fastest growing sector of the economy. Women entrepreneurs have createdorganizations that serve their constituents and their employees. They have institutedinnovative systems and schedules. Yet the business world is still a man’s domain.In 2002, women owned less than a third of independently owned businesses in theU.S., generating $1.15 trillion in sales. These businesses employed 9.2 million people,more people than the entire Fortune 500 list of America’s largest companies combined.According to the Center for Women’s Business Research, in 1996 women in the U.S.owned 7.95 million businesses. Despite the fact that the rate of women-owned startupsoutpaced that of all new privately-held firms, there were only 6.2 million women-ownedbusinesses in the U.S. in 2002. Few of the largest or most profitable corporations in theU.S. today are run or were started by a woman entrepreneur.

Women entrepreneurs have made substantial gains in terms of business education,corporate experience, and technical expertise. More and more are starting businessesin rapidly growing industries including financial services, biotechnology and software.Still, women-owned businesses tend to be smaller than those owned by men whethermeasured by size, by the number of employees, or the amount of revenues. In 2004,women were majority shareholders of 30 percent of all privately owned businesses inthe United States and they claimed a 50 percent share in another 18 percent. Yet theyreceived only five percent of all venture capital investments (Brush, Carter, Gatewood,Greene and Hart, 2004).

Womenin otherwestern countries showsimilar patterns. In theU.K.,womenaccountfor 26 percent of business owners, remaining in traditional sectors such as service andretailing (Shaw, Carter and Brierton, 2001). In transition economies,women still lag behindmen in the number of independent ventures, despite the near-parity in employmentunder communism. Romania, Croatia, and Poland lead the rest with self-employmentas a percentage of total employment of 32.6, 25.9, and 23.3%, respectively, for men,and 17.4, 14.4, and 18.4%, respectively, for women. Self-employment in Lithuania andthe CzechRepublic follow close behind, with 19.2 and 18.8% of men and 12.7 and 9.0%of women, respectively (Ruminska-Zimney, 2002). These data indicate similar patternsof men outpacing women in new business creation by roughly two to one, despite thefact that women absorbed a disproportionately large share of employment cuts andsuffered from less access to job opportunities in the private sector during the initialpost-communist privatization (Ruminska-Zimney, 2002).

Interestingly, in transition countries with lowlevels of entrepreneurial activity in general,such as Moldova, Ukraine and the Russian Federation, the numbers of womenownedbusinesses in 2001 approached parity with men (45–48%) (Erdem, 2004). InRomania, Croatia, and Poland, countries with the highest level of self-employmentamong former Communist countries, women owned 31.8, 29.9, and 36.4% of independentbusinesses, respectively, in 2001. Between 1993 and 2000, the growth of womenownedbusinesses outpaced men-owned businesses in Croatia, Latvia, Slovakia, andthe Russian Federation (Ruminska-Zimney, 2002). Women in the Czech Republic accountfor over 27% of business owners, unchanged from 1993 through 2000 (UNECE,2003).

Policymakers have been concerned about the barriers faced by women who wish tostart their own companies, since women’s participation in the global economy and ademocratic society is necessary for a country’s economic advancement (Jalbert, 2000;MONEE, 1999; Schl¨ ogl, 2004). As an increasing number of families with children areheaded by single mothers (US Census Bureau, 2003),women’s economic status becomesnot only an economic concern, but a social concern as well. This paper will review theresearch on entrepreneurship as a career choice for women, the motivations and careerpaths followed by women entrepreneurs, the attitudes and behaviors associated withsuccessful ventures, and the problems that persist in keeping women’s businesses fewand small. A discussion of legislation and practices that have helped and hinderedwomen’s entrepreneurship will follow, with suggestions for reframing the issues andreforming policies.

Entrepreneurship as a career choice

The decision to start a business is a complex process that incorporates one’s personalityand interests, upbringing and role models, skills and opportunities. Sonnenfeldand Kotter’s (1982) career life cycle model emphasizes the evolution of people, theirfamilies and their careers over a lifetime. Bowen and Hisrich (1986) included education,work history and family history in their career development model. A person’scareer choice, according to these models, depends on adult development, the familyand life-style, as well as the particular stage of one’s career. Career outcomes are theWOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: CAN WE REMOVE THE BARRIERS? 383result of the interactions of occupational, personal, and family factors throughout alifetime. For men, career choice is assumed to be an integral part of their lives, whilemany women view personal goals as separate fromcareer goals (Fernandez, 1981). It isnot uncommon for a young woman to talk about the choice between career and family,rather than to envision a career path that incorporates family life, or vice versa.Independent business ownership appears to have all the ingredients for women whowish to have both a career and a family. Women seek entrepreneurship for flexibilityand autonomy, satisfaction and personal growth, and income and prestige (Goffeeand Scase, 1985; Orhan and Scott, 2001; Scott 1986; Winn, 2004). Like their malecounterparts, some women start a business because of an idea or innovation. Otherschoose to start their own business because of employment experiences that have beenunsatisfying. Many women report frustration with demanding and inflexible workenvironments (Hewlett, 2002), failure to break through the “glass ceiling” to higherpaidmanagerial positions (Glaser and Smalley, 1999; Weiler and Bernasek, 2001), orthe belief that working for a large corporation will not accommodate their personalsituations or satisfy their professional goals (Moore and Buttner, 1997). Some womeninitiate or join partnerships (Still and Timms, 2000), starting their businesses either aspart of a team or as part of a family business. Business ownership sometimes resultsfrom a forced unemployment, either from a layoff or lack of marketable skills, or afamily-business crisis that leaves the woman in charge of a business she didn’t start—orwant—herself (Goffee and Scase, 1985; Shannon, 2003).

Career choice models that focus specifically on newventure creation emphasize visionand intentionality as primary factors. New venture initiation is viewed as a consciousdecision, implemented by individuals with “precursor attitudes” and characteristics.This intentionality is present in Greenberger and Sexton’s model of venture initiationwhich “depicts the decision to initiate a new venture as arising from the interactions ofa number of factors, including personality, situational variables, self-perceptions, andsocial support” (1988, p. 2). Greenberger and Sexton see personality, vision (“a newway of viewing the environment”), and “desire for control” as necessary conditions forinitiating an independent business.

Entrepreneurs are typically defined as organization creators; however most newventures are not creatively inspired (Brockhaus, 1987), even though there are numerousexamples of tinkering in garages—or laboratories—to create new products. Newproduct creation (in and of itself) is not generally viewed as an entrepreneurial activity.In fact, most new ventures are virtual carbon-copies of existing enterprises,with few expectations for growth. Brockhaus “found that as many as 60 percentof entrepreneurs decide to start a business before they know what type of businessthey want to undertake” (1987, p. 4), thereby casting doubt on the role of creativeinspiration or “vision” as motivating new venture creation.

An admitted limitation of most career models is the fact that they rely on male subjects,thereby weakening the model’s applicability to women.While most career modelsaccount for the influence of family support and self-perceptions, self-report surveysreveal marked differences between the values held by men and women concerning familyand achievement. Stevenson (1986) acknowledges that men and women come to entrepreneurship fromvery different educational and business experience backgrounds.

For men, the decision to start a business seems to follow a logical progression. Mentypically replicate a business in which they have prior knowledge. Most women gaintheir first management experience in their own business, having prior work experiencein traditional fields such as teaching, nursing, and clerical work. While formal education,per se, has not been shown to be an essential ingredient for owning a business,there is some evidence that the type of education, e.g. technical or managerial skills overliberal arts, positively affects business success (Menzies, Diochon and Gasse, 2004).Most self-report surveys (e.g. Brenner, Pringle and Greenhaus, 1991; Neider, 1987)show that men’s career decisions focus on income, risk-taking, and control; whilewomen desire work that provides personal satisfaction, intellectual growth, and independence.Women, unlike men, typically rate their family higher in importance thantheir career (Konrad and Langton, 1991). Moore (1990) asserts that many “modern”women, like men, are career focused, rather than family focused. Like men, womenwant to make money, to be independent, to achieve, to use their skills and talents, andto enhance their job satisfaction.

While women entrepreneurs allegedly seek self-fulfillment (Moore and Buttner,1997), men claim to start their own companies because they believe that by doingso they can increase their income. For women, however, the choice of self-employmentoften results in lower economic status (Weiler and Bernasek, 2001). Working for anorganization is perceived by men as providing mundane outcomes: job security, leisuretime, clearly defined rules and procedures and regular, but not necessarily higher, income.Women report that operating their own business provides more opportunity totake risks and develop their own methods of doing work (Brenner et al., 1991).

In order for career models to be of use in understanding or facilitating new venturecreation for prospective entrepreneurs or policy makers, they must not only differentiatebetween the factors that drive certain individuals to compete in the corporateworld and those that compel others to strike out on their own, but they must alsodifferentiate between the priorities and pulls that differently affect men and women.So far, researchers have failed to find significant differences between managers andentrepreneurs in personality characteristics, achievement motivation, locus of control,or risk taking (Brockhaus, 1987; Masters and Meier, 1998; Scott, 1986;Waddell, 1983),all of which contribute to both the propensity to start a business as well as the successand longevity of the enterprise. While research on women entrepreneurs has yieldedsome significant differences, both on career stages and on intentionality to initiate theirown businesses, evidence points heavily to situational (and societal) factors as playingpivotal roles.

Entrepreneurial attitudes, behaviors and competencies

Entrepreneurship encompasses a broad range of activities, including the identificationof opportunities (Kirzner, 1973, 1979; Penrose, 1959; Stevenson and Jarillo, 1990),thecreation of organizations (Gartner, 1988), the carrying out of new combinations ofWOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: CAN WE REMOVE THE BARRIERS? 385methods, products, supplies, or markets (Schumpeter, 1934), and the bearing of uncertainty(Knight, 1921). An entrepreneur, then, is not someone who is narrowly specializedor wedded to one way of doing things. Wheelen and Hunger identify an entrepreneuras someonewho has (1) the ability to identify potential venture opportunitiesbetter than most people, (2) a sense of urgency that makes them action-oriented, (3)a detailed knowledge of the keys to success in the industry, and the physical staminato make their work their lives, and (4) access to outside help to supplement theirskills, knowledge, and abilities (2002, pp. 312–313). Other studies of entrepreneurstout achievement motivation, inner strength (“locus of control”), the propensity totake risks, and boldness to challenge the status quo as critical for entrepreneurial success(Brenner et al., 1991; Brockhaus, 1987; Scott, 1986;Waddell, 1983). Levander andRaccuia (2001) suggest that successful entrepreneurs are impulsive, reacting to environmentalstimuli and deriving satisfaction from engaging in stimulating tasks. However,entrepreneurs often perceive themselves as risk avoiders (Hyatt, 1992), who engage instrategic thinking and challenge themselves to excel (Hyatt, 2004).

Womenwho achieve success as business owners stress the importance of tenacity anddetermination to weather the stress of owning a business (Moore, 2003). Entrepreneurshipis not for the faint of heart. Business ownership often requires long hours, withoutregard to one’s family needs or personal preferences. Entrepreneurs must be willing tochange course when the environment dictates. This means not only the recognition ofthe need for change, but the humility to abandon a pet project that is doomed to fail.Brodsky (1993) found entrepreneurs to be less trusting and to have higher controlneeds thanmanagers. “Entrepreneurs see themselves as in need of control and intolerantof limits imposed by others, and seek to define their own work environments andparameters. Although managers view corporate environments as safe and supportive,entrepreneurs consider them confining” (Brodsky, 1993, p. 341).Most entrepreneurs are sales people,whose passion comes throughwhen selling theirideas, their business, themselves. Unless they can show competence and confidence,others will not seek out their business. Self-employment coach Karyn Greenstreet(2004) thinks that too many women rely on passion, rather than planning, mistakingbusiness for a hobby and neglecting to ascertain whether their business idea is viableand potentially profitable.While all businesses are vulnerable to environmental change,management and finance skills are particularly crucial in young enterprises (Thornhilland Amit, 2003).

Hart, Stevenson and Dial (1995) found industry experience to be an importantingredient in an entrepreneur’s ability to identify the full range of capabilities andpotential contributions of partners and alliances. Experienced entrepreneurs are ableto locate resource suppliers quickly and assess the relative value of available resources.However, few entrepreneurs claim a detailed knowledge of their industry (Hyatt, 1992).Brenner et al. (1991) point out that most business schools offer courses or programsthat deal with corporate management, not start-ups. This may convey the attitude thatstarting one’s own business does not require formal training, or that entrepreneurialskills cannot be taught. While it is true that one does not need credentials to starta business, many would-be entrepreneurs fail as a result of skill deficiencies, despite386 WINNtheir motivation, ingenuity or creativity (Menzies, Diochon and Gasse, 2004). Whilemen and women alike cite financial, marketing, and management skills as essentialingredients for business success, the business owner does not need to have such skillsherself. Rather, it’s the mix of skills within an organization that matters, not the skillset of any one person.

Roadblocks along the path

Two of the biggest hurdles women face in starting and running a company revolvearound funding and family support. Despite a woman’s level of education, corporateexperience, and technical expertise, private equity lenders and venture capitalists stillharbor lingering concerns about women’s commitment to their enterprises, their qualificationsfor leadership of high growth businesses, and their ability to garner crucialresources. Lack of capital, which has proven to be invaluable in the expansion and developmentof high potential companies, has starved many promising ventures (Carterand Anderson, 2001; Thornhill and Amit, 2003). Bankers tend to holdwomen to higherstandards than men in assessing loan requests (Fay and Williams, 1993; Hisrich andOzturk, 1999). In 2004,womenwere majority shareholders of 30 percent of all privatelyowned businesses in the United States and they claimed a 50 percent share in another18 percent. Yet they received only five percent of all venture capital investments. Brushet al. (2004) believe that this funding gap represents a major market failure and preventswomen from attaining the highest level of entrepreneurial achievement.Although most women approach entrepreneurship with objectivity and openmindedness,they still suffer from gender specific barriers.Weiler and Bernasek (2001)observed that discrimination from male-dominated supplier systems, such as preferentialtreatment in timing and delivery of orders, may have particularly damagingimpacts on the relative competitiveness and profitability of women-owned enterprises.Hart et al. (1995) found that “being known” was as important as “knowing” in enablingan entrepreneur to attract and assemble resources efficiently and economically.On the other hand, long-term persistence of perceived network-based advantages maymake women-owned businesses less successful in a competitive market place (Mooreand Buttner, 1997).

Women entrepreneurs are often excluded from trade and business associations andinformal “old-boys” networks, which has a negative impact on their access to information,credit, training opportunities, business partners and new market entry. In transitioneconomies, gender-biased privatization resulted in the redistribution of publicassets in favor of men, leaving women with less collateral to use in obtaining financialresources. The traditional perception about women’s role in society creates a lessfavorable social climate towards women entrepreneurs, discriminatory treatment bythe state administration and/or limited access to bank loans (Erdem, 2002; Carr andChen, 2004).

Family structure in the context of the particular role played by the entrepreneur,e.g., husband or wife, father or mother, imposes critical familial and societal variablesWOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: CAN WE REMOVE THE BARRIERS? 387that may explain the different forces that are exerted on women and men to formindependent organizations. Women in transition economies suffered from traditionalperceptions about women’s role in society, and these attitudes persist (Erdem, 2002;Hovet, 2004). In the early 1900s, “work” became differentiated from“housework”, withwomen excluded from the ranks of productive enterprise and confined to “supportive”domestic roles for the male head-of-household. And still today, among students andprofessionals alike, when given a forced choice of advancing their own careers or followingtheir husbands (orwould-be husbands),women will usually subjugate their owncareers to that of their spouse, rather than the other way around (Fernandez, 1981),despite the fact that on self-report questionnaires women in professional schools or inearly stages of their careers will expound on their independence and the importance oftheir career.

While career opportunities for women have changed, family role models typicallyhave not.While the percentage of stay-at-home dads has soared, their numbers are stillfew. Most young men andwomen see their mother doing the lion’s share of home chores.The father’s job is still seen as more important in terms of both money and prestige.Women are not prepared for business-related pressures that impinge on their role inthe family (the role that they were taught to play).White, Cox, and Cooper found thateven among those who were career-oriented from an early age, many successful womenundergo “role conflicts which may lead to an extended period of identity ‘diffusion’ ”and missed opportunities (1997, p. 31). Women burdened with family responsibilitieshave less time for learning and/or exploring business prospects.Even in the most liberal of households, boys and girls are presented with differentviews of theworld. Froman early age men expect towork to support themselves or theirfamilies and are encouraged to achieve; women have been socialized to nurture and tofind someone to support them.Two-career households reinforce these stereotypeswhenthe mother attends to mundane household duties after work—“the second shift”—asthe father either relaxes or attends to more “important matters,” such as finances orhome improvement projects (Shellenbarger, 1991). Even in the 2000s, few men buytheir children’s clothes or school supplies or volunteer at their children’s school. Inmost two-career families, the man’s job is still viewed as more important or prestigious.For married women, especially those with children, business ownership takes itstoll in stress and, in many cases, divorce (Winn, 2004). Even with a stable maritalrelationship to mitigate risk and provide a financial safety net and moral support,child-rearing responsibilities can interfere with the best of intentions. Children do notplan their illnesses or school schedules with their parents’ needs in mind. While it isoften permissible to miss a day at the office to tend to family problems, small businesseshave less slack than large companies and small business owners have less flexibility thantheir employees. Owners of new businesses find that they have more time constraintsand less discretion than they anticipated in the planning stages of their business. Forwomen, this is particularly troublesome.While many mothers become successful business-owners, the difficulties of balancingtheir families with their business obligations cannot be overemphasized. Whileself-employed women may put in fewer hours per week at their jobs than the average

full-time worker (OECD, 1991), women too often underestimate the extent to whichtheir own business will interfere with their family (Longstreth, Stafford and Mauldin,1987), or to the extent that their family will encumber the business(Winn, 2004).Womenhave been criticized for limiting the growth of their businesses (Armstrong, 2002; Brushet al., 2004; Carter, Brush, Greene, Gatewood and Hart, 2003) but the combinationof undercapitalization and family obligations conspire to keep their businesses small.Entrepreneurship requires complex and acute demands on one’s time, and men andwomen prioritize their time differently. Research by Flinders University of South Australia(1996) acknowledges that women with dependent children are typically the primarycaregivers, regardless of their professional status. Even in Western Europe, onlytwo percent of men take on household responsibilities such as washing and cleaning(Armstrong, 2002). In transition countries, in particular, household chores are seen ashumiliating (Mar´?kov´a, 1999). Inmany countries, part-timework is rarely available, andchildcare and domestic services are scarce and expensive (Marksov´a-Tominov´a, 2003;Open Society Institute, 2002). Women who choose self-employment or entrepreneurshipforego healthcare benefits,maternity leave, and pension plans (Ruminska-Zimney,2002).

Family obligations do not always lessen as children get older. Day-care is easier tofind for young children. Older children pose more logistical problems, and when left totheir own devices are not always trustworthy. Even when husbands are willing to sharein the household and childrearing duties, women tend to suffer tremendous guilt andanxiety when their businesses require long hours away from home. The businesses ofwomen who lack non-financial help from their husbands or “significant others,” areoften doomed to failure (Winn, 2004).Work-home conflict is evident even for women who do not have children. Like thewomen in the study by Stoner, Hartman and Arora (1990), Winn (2004) found thatthe demands of their business affected their ability to relax at home, causing maritalunhappiness and work-home conflict. Even women who are encouraged by theirhusbands report that the time and stress of the businesses strained their marriages.Goffee and Scase (1985) point out that while “the wives of small businessmen are oftensubordinated to the needs of their husbands,” the reverse is seldom true (1985, p. 5).Even entrepreneurial couples, husband-wife teams who work closely together, “areoften trapped by a gender-based division of responsibilities and authority” typicallyresulting in “the wife acquiescing to [ the husband’s] benevolent authority” (Marschak,1998, p. 169).

Being older, being male, and being married are positive correlates to the propensityto start one’s own business (OECD, 1991). For men, work and family are complementary;for women, work and family present a dilemma. It should be no surprise thatoverall birthrates have been falling in transition countries where women strive to betterthemselves economically (Paukert, 1991). Too often a business affords flexible timeonly when the children leave home, either to go off to school or to set up their ownhouseholds as adults. For some women, this is a time of reevaluating their role in thebusiness as well as their role at home (McKay, 2001; Winn, 2004).WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: CAN WE REMOVE THE BARRIERS? 389The corporate world contains professional as well as social contacts. Starting anindependent business can be isolating (Winn, 2004). Single women often remain single,reporting that they have no discretionary time or emotional reserves beyond thedemands of their business. In stark contrast to their male peers, successful, upwardlymobilewomen in Fortune 500 companies tend to be single (55%), without childrenat home (80%) (Stroh, Brett and Reilly, 1992). Brodsky’s study of women corporatemanagers and entrepreneurs found that more women managers were married,while more entrepreneurs were divorced (1993, p. 366). No one will dispute the factthat young children thrive best in loving two-parent families with a stay-at-homeparent. But one cannot deny that single-parent homes exist. When self-employmentadds to the isolation and stress of the caregivers, many women opt for low-wage jobsthat provide the safety of predictable schedules and benefits, despite long hours andunfulfilling work. As one would expect, female employment rates are high, yet entrepreneurshipis low, in countries such as Austria, Denmark, Norway and Sweden,where childcare and social support systems cater to full-time wage earners (OECD,1991).

Reframing the issues

It should be no surprise that family structure and gender influence career choice and thatmen and women seek different paths. The fact that women are still underrepresentedin top management or boards of directors of the largest companies may be as mucha factor of choice as of opportunity. Among all privately held businesses in the U.S.,nearly 46% of firms list majority ownership by women, 10.1 million businesses, (Centerfor Women’s Business Research, 2004), and women are quite well represented amongthe independent self-employed (U.S. Census, 2003). Large publicly-held corporationsmay erect barriers for women’s advancement, but privately held businesses may not beso hostile. However, the reverse is true for Central and Eastern European transitioncountries, where employment practices, social services, lending and taxation policieshave placed increasing burdens on women who choose self-employment or venturecreation (UNECE, 2003).

Undercapitalization is recognized as a barrier to business growth and success, butthe main drivers of entrepreneurship—for women and men—are motives, aspirations,and commitment (Carter et al., 2003; Greene, 2004). Today, men and women businessowners in the U.S. have comparable access to bank credit, and appear to be equallysatisfied with the amount of credit available to them (Center for Women’s BusinessResearch, 2004). The range of sources to which men- and women-owned businessesare turning for capital is also very similar (Faulhaber, 1998). Moore (2003) observesthat women face more difficulty than men in obtaining capital because they generallycome to the table with fewer assets and unproven track records. In addition, womenentrepreneurs tend to be more conservative than men when borrowing money (Weilerand Bernasek, 2001), so many women unwisely liquidate assets and go through theircredit cards before approaching a bank for help. Subsidized financing programs and

Discussions about the differences between small businesses and entrepreneurial venturesstress growth and opportunism, but women who seek autonomy and flexibleschedules are more apt to focus on internal matters than to look for growth or newmarket opportunities. This hesitance to look outward keeps small businesses small,with little plans for growth beyond the owner’s own managerial capabilities. Growth,especially if accompanied by ownership dilution, can be seen as relinquishing control;a change in business procedures can threaten one’s idealism and values.It is too bold to suggest that gender can explain individual differences in personalityand behaviors. However, as illustrated in Table 1, women entrepreneurs openly admitto family pressures and personal relationships undermining their business dreams.The determination and drive needed to start a business can work against the patienceand compromise needed to maintain harmonious partnership relationships, especiallywhen the business is not going well.Women who see themselves as compassionate andunderstanding expect the same from others, and undergo psychological stress whenpartnership or employee relationships go awry. When partnerships work, they contributeto the diversity of thought and experience that enhances strategic planning.However, these very differences in points of view and personal style contribute tobusiness failures (Winn, 2004). Entrepreneurship texts delineate the legalities of partnerships,but fail to emphasize the importance of delineating roles and responsibilitiescommensurate with ownership risk and reward. Feminists balk at the suggestion thatwomen should act like men or engage in what they perceive to be a masculine styleof management that is impersonal or insensitive (Cleveland, Stockdale and Murphy,2002). Rather, women are advised to develop a style of management that suits theirpersonality, yet is firm and unwavering in their beliefs and goals.

For many women, this is a contradiction. There is a fine line between tenacity andstubbornness; a difficult middle ground between being firm and compassionate. Collaborationis not always the preferred course of action, nor is standing one’s groundWOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: CAN WE REMOVE THE BARRIERS? 391appropriate on all occasions. While trust in oneself is critical, since the startup processcan be fraught with uncertainty, entrepreneurship cannot succeed without trustedadvisors, colleagues, and employees. Trust in others, however, opens oneself to vulnerability(Brodsky, 1993). Entrepreneurs can mitigate this risk by setting up systems thatmonitor the results of everyone’s actions, and that allow for corrective action withoutrecrimination or blame. These management skills can be taught, but fewer women thanmen obtain training or experience before they start their own business. Rather, womenuse networks for social support (Smeltzer and Fann, 1989) and seek advice when theirbusinesses are already in trouble.

In 2000, women accounted for only a third of full-time students in U.S. graduatebusiness programs (Alsop, 2004), despite efforts on the part of university recruitersto target women. Women are not underrepresented in undergraduate classrooms, butmany women choose to enroll in part time graduate programs to better accommodateeither work or family obligations. On the other hand, a survey conducted by Catalystand the University of Michigan (Hildebrandt, Miller, Edington and Bond, 1987) suggeststhat the main reason given for women’s hesitancy to major in business is a fearof math, not business. The socialization of girls away from mathematics, science andtechnology—from parents, teachers and counselors—is well documented (Hardman-Matou?skov´a, 2004; Rakow, 1998; Rathgeber, 1995; Strauss, 1988). As more businessschools offer programs in entrepreneurship and small business development, prospectiveentrepreneurs may realize that launching a new company requires a broad rangeof skills. In addition to managerial and financial training, these programs would bewell advised to address the life-style decisions that can impede or facilitate new venturesuccess.

Familial and societal variables differently impact women and men in starting andsustaining independent organizations. However, education labeled as “feminist” thatfocuses on the needs of women and families should be required for men and womenalike, all of whom need to anticipate the emotional and economic impact that starting abusiness will have on all members of the family. School schedules, after-school activities,and childcare providers assume someone at home with discretionary time during theday. Household and childrearing chores are often invisible except to those who bearthe burdens. Independent business ownership can accommodate family obligationsif a woman chooses the right time, the right business, and the right partner. It fallson women themselves to anticipate the demands of business ownership so that theycan embark on entrepreneurship with realistic expectations and requisite skills, andacknowledge the support systems that they will need if they are to succeed.Because the preponderance ofwomen-owned businesses are initiated with unrealisticexpectations, in volatile service or retailing industries, with insufficient financial andmanagerial training, it is a wonder that any succeed. Embarking on any profession orcareer without relevant training and experience creates hardships that need not exist.But we can only provide a better system of education and support if we understandand acknowledge the critical variables that affect the business-creation decision andthe roles that family structure and spousal and societal support play as the businessmatures.

Reforming policies

Women business owners in America,Western Europe, and European transition countriesvoice similar needs for their business’s development—access to capital, access toeducation and training, access to networks and markets, and to be taken seriously.Internationally, women entrepreneurs’ key business concerns are a blend of day-to-daybusiness management issues—maintaining profits, finding good employees, managingcash flow; and external factors such as the economy, government, legal changes, andaccess to technology and capital. Policy-makers and educators who are interested inincreasing the ranks of women entrepreneurs need to understand the biases and barriersthat adversely affect women who start their own businesses, in order to provideproper guidance and enact appropriate legislation.

Carr and Chen acknowledge that there is no single remedy or “magic bullet” thatwill “adequately address the complex mix of factors of exclusion” that keep womenentrepreneurs behind men in access to capital, training, and social support (2004,p. 157). However, unless economic policies and legal structures recognize these barriersand biases, women-owned businesses will continue to fight an uphill battle for fundingand recognition, and the current social biases will prevail.Arguably, until women are among those in positions of political leadership, it isunlikely that these issues will be addressed appropriately. Lawmakers need to be cognizantof the different worlds occupied by small and large enterprises, and the undueburden placed on small businesses by once-size-fits-all labor codes and socialservices. Labor intensive service businesses are penalized for hiring workers. Equipmentis an expense to be deducted; wages are accompanied by social security andemployment taxes. In the U.S., businesses are expected to bear the brunt of healthinsurance costs, putting small businesses at a disadvantage, both in the expense andability to provide attractive benefit packages. Entrepreneurs compete on an unevenplaying field with large companies for skilled workers and knowledgeableadvisors.

In the corporate world the path to upper management has an established protocolfor men and women alike. However, policies that appear to be gender-neutral failto be gender-sensitive. The lack of appropriate mentors and the prevalence of traditionalattitudes towards women’s advancement is still the norm. Usually long hoursdemonstrating ambition and loyalty to the organization are prerequisites to promotion,adversely impacting anyone with household and/or family obligations. Men inmanagement experience gender role congruence pressures as well, and may be morepenalized in the workplace than women when they seek non-traditional schedules orassignments. Women’s commitment is viewed with suspicion, but time spent devotedto family obligations can hinder men’s advancement more than women’s (Konrad andCannings, 1997). However, as Hewlett points out, “even a generous package of benefitscannot help employees strike a meaningful, sustainable balance between professionaland personal life unless there is a fundamental change in the mind-set ofmanagers” (2002, p. 331). In transition countries, women were given equal representationin the workplace, but were clearly absent among decision-makers or politicalWOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: CAN WE REMOVE THE BARRIERS? 393leaders (MONEE, 1999), thus perpetuating the subordination and dependence ofwomen.

What can be done? Policies that penalize women with children when they enter theworkplace perpetuate a cycle ofwomen’s dependence.Programs that ignorewomenwhoare not employed by large enterprises discourage women from starting their own firms.Tax structures that cater to large capital-intensive corporations discourage businessgrowth in labor-intensive industries. Lending practices geared to high-growth venturescut off small and medium enterprise development and micro-enterprise. Legislation andpolicies that subordinate a married woman’s status to that of her husband, perpetuatethe impression of women as second-class citizens. Devaluing lifestyle choices amongthosewho choose to followa non-traditional path not only denigrates their choices, butputs their children at an undue social and economic disadvantage. Relegating socialservices, such as health care and retirement benefits, to the private sector—those whoprovide insurance benefits—perpetuates a class of underemployed and subtly disenfranchisessmaller employers. The wage and wealth gap will continue to get wider withpolicies that close doors to those whose circumstances discourage individual initiativeand risk.

Under the right circumstances, initiating one’s own business has the potential ofcreating an environment that accommodates individual needs and differences, and offersa proving ground for innovative business models. Women business owners havebeen at the forefront of providing alternative work arrangements and being sensitiveto the family burdens faced by working mothers. Women business owners aremore likely than their male counterparts to offer flex-time, tuition reimbursement and,even among small firms, profit sharing to their workers (Center for Women’s BusinessResearch, 2001). In the U.S., women business owners employ a roughly genderbalancedworkforce(52%women and 48% men), in contrast to the men business ownerswho employ, on average, 38% women and 62% men (Small Business Administration,2001).

But it will take more than the determination of enterprising women themselves tolessen the current barriers to success. Biologically, women and men are not equal, andsuffer unequally from legislation and social stereotypes. When women are expectedto excel without relief, their families suffer. When women are expected to be primarycaregivers, their businesses suffer. Educators need to understand and address the factorsthat are critical for independent business success and to present a more realisticpicture of what starting a new business entails. Legislators and policymakers must becognizant of the tax structures and social policies that, despite good intentions, workagainst women who wish to achieve financial independence. Women who desire selfactualizationand economic advancement can succeed through independent businessownership, but not without great personal cost. Proactive policy changes are needed inorder to erode gender-biased attitudes and practices so that women can choose a careerpath that doesn’t require sacrificing their dreams, depriving their families, jeopardizingtheir health, or selling their souls.

Women Entrepreneurs - Can we Remove the Barriers Joan Winn, Department of Management, University of Denver, USA